About That Pollution Problem..

Press Release

In yesterday's edition of the St. Louis Beacon, Jay Nixon espoused his love for fishing with his father not in his home county of Jefferson but in Arkansas, which is no surprise considering his family's dubious distinction of operating what environmental regulators have described as "one of the worst" sewage plants in Missouri.1

Since 1991, Democrats have joined Republicans in criticizing Nixon for conveniently ignoring the plight of homeowners in his home county who have been forced to endure the sludge deposits and Clean Water Law violations created by his family's sewage treatment plant, Central Jefferson County Utilities (CJCU).

In 1991, current Missouri Supreme Court jurist Mike Wolff was the first Democrat to raise concerns about Nixon's ties to the sewage plant. Said Wolff: "The least Missourians can expect from their hard-earned tax dollars is an attorney general who practices what he preaches. If Nixon intends to, as he says, `prosecute polluters who are threatening the health and safety of our children and families,' then it seems he's got his work cut out for him not too far from his breakfast table."2

Fourteen years after Wolff aired his concerns, another Democrat pleaded with Nixon to do something about his family's plant and its escalating pollution problems. In December 2005, Rep. Belinda Harris (D-Hillsboro) took up the cause of her constituents impacted by the plant when she said, "I know we can't control everything our family does, but I feel that it is his [Nixon's] father and I would appreciate it if somehow he could maybe help him understand that this is a very important issue and it needs to be rectified."3

Not surprisingly, Harris' plea fell on deaf ears as Nixon simply washed his hands of the issue. In 2007, the Department of Natural Resources took up the cause and sued CJCU. In the suit, which is pending, the agency accused CJCU of dumping untreated sludge into nearby Galligher Creek and violating the state Clean Water Law.

"Thanks to his family's pollution problems, it's no wonder Jay Nixon has to leave Missouri to fish," said Scott Baker, campaign spokesman for Hulshof for Governor. "Unfortunately, his decision to turn a blind eye to the problem has real consequences for the people of Jefferson County. Jay Nixon has failed them miserably."